


Be Mine

by scarletmanuka



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Starker Bingo 2019, Tony is a good friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-09-26 00:02:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20380333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarletmanuka/pseuds/scarletmanuka
Summary: Peter has been getting grief from Flash Thompson because he can't get a date to an exclusive fundraiser night at MIT. Tony offers to be his date.





	Be Mine

**Author's Note:**

> For the Starker Bingo square 'fake dating'

Peter was quiet, almost glum, and Tony didn’t like it. He rarely got to see the kid anymore since he was studying at MIT in Cambridge and although it really wasn’t all that far from New York, Peter’s busy schedule kept him away. The odd weekend and holiday that he came back for a proper visit was usually spent geeking out over some project or another in Tony’s lab and Peter would fill the space with his enthusiastic chatter and tales from school. This time though, he’d been quiet. Too quiet.

“Alright, kid, spill. What’s wrong?” Tony demanded, unable to take it anymore.

Peter looked up, flustered. “What? I don’t know what you mean, nothing’s wrong!”

“Yeah, see, I don’t believe you. You’re not yourself and it’s freaking me out. Tell me what’s got you so down.”

Peter sighed, and swiped away the hologram that he was working on. It never took much to get him to open up - well, with Tony anyway. The hero worship thing had eased off over the years but he still seemed unable to believe that he was friends with the one and only Tony Stark. Tony on the other hand sometimes had trouble believing that he had such a close friendship with someone as good and pure as Peter, but somehow it worked. They were closer than ever, especially now that they could swap stories about MIT and Peter had matured from the sweet and innocent school boy he’d been when they’d first met. They were on relatively equal footing and the massive amount of respect they had for one another made it easy to share their troubles and secrets. Peter had been the first person that Tony had told when he and Pepper had split for example, and he hoped that he could be there for Peter now with whatever was bothering him.

“It’s silly, you’ll laugh.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “I always laugh at you - I doubt this will make me laugh any harder.”

“Ha ha, very funny,” Peter shot back with an eye roll, but it seemed to have at least broken some of the tension that he was feeling. “But seriously, it’s nothing life threatening or anything so you won’t be able to be much help.”

“Hey,” Tony said, giving Peter’s shoulder a squeeze, “I might not be able to help but talking about it might lessen the burden a little. Give me a try.”

Peter nodded. “Okay, thanks. So, you remember Flash?”

“Yeah, he was that douche you went to high school with. Didn’t he get into MIT as well?”

“Yeah, he did, but I’ve not had much to do with him the past two years so it’s been okay, but he’s started seeing Shelly, one of the girls in my circle of friends, so he’s around quite a bit now.”

“Let me guess - he’s not changed much since high school?”

Peter sighed. “Nope. He’s the same old Flash, which means he still seems to have it in for me. I can usually ignore him but sometimes he gets this axe to grind about something in particular and he just won’t let it go. It just wears me down after a while, ya know?”

“What’s he giving you a hard time about now?”

“As I said, it’s silly. There’s this fancy cocktail night coming up, a fundraiser for a women’s health centre, and I got two tickets to go from one of my professors since I aced his class last semester. The thing is, I don’t have anyone to take as my plus one and Flash has been teasing me about not being able to get a date. Usually I can ignore him but he’s even managed to get half of the people I hang out with teasing me about it as well. I just don’t know what to do - I’m so over it all.”

Tony hummed thoughtfully. “Well, there’s two things you should do.”

Peter looked up, hope in his eyes at whatever piece of sage advice Tony was about to dole out. “First of all, I think you need to get better friends. If Flash has convinced them to give you a hard time, then they don’t deserve to be friends with you.”

“Oh, okay,” Peter said, disappointed that the first point wasn’t something more concrete. “What’s the second thing?”

Tony winked. “The second thing is that I graciously accept the invitation to be your date to the fundraiser.”

“Oh, um, well that’s kind of you and all, T...Tony,” Peter stammered, “but the theme is, uh, like a romantic evening and all, so the, um, plus one sort of has to be a _ date _date and if you came along, well people might, uh, might get the wrong idea.” He was blushing furiously by the end.

“Would that be an issue?” he asked, raising a manicured eyebrow. “You got a problem with people thinking that we’re dating, Pete?” He couldn't help but tease a little. “Am I not good enough for you?”

“No!” Peter cried, mortified. “Tony, you’re great, like, _ really _great, but no one would ever believe that I could be dating someone like you!”

His eyes narrowed. “Why not?” he demanded, his tone a little harsh but damn it, it upset him when Peter put himself down like that.

“Well, because I’m me and you’re, well, _ you_,” he floundered to explain, gesturing between the two of them like it should be obvious. “Then there’s the whole, we’re not actually dating thing.” Peter was blushing even harder now. “That might give it away.”

“Never let the truth get in the way of a good story, kid. I’ll come along as your plus one, and we’ll enjoy it when Flash’s jaw hits the floor.”

This didn’t cheer Peter up as much as Tony had hoped. “You know I’m a terrible liar,” Peter said, eyes downcast. “I’ll give it away.”

“Then we’ll keep it quiet, and people can draw whatever conclusions they want. You don’t need to sweep in there and announce to the world that we’re dating or anything.”

The kid pondered this for a moment, chewing on his bottom lip the way he did when he was nervous. “Okay then,” he finally agreed. “Thanks, Tony. Just so long as you’re sure. If the press gets wind of this, then they’ll probably have a field day.”

“Oh, I’m sure they will, but they’ve published much worse about me so I’m not worried. Now, I’m gonna give my tailor a call - we’re going to need tuxedos for the night.” He winked at Peter again. “Can’t have my date arriving in anything less than the best.”

oOoOo

Peter had headed back to MIT the following day and Tony didn't see him again in person until the night of the party. His tailor had made several visits to Cambridge for fittings and adjustments, but Tony didn’t see the final result until Peter opened his dorm room door to Tony when he dropped by to pick him up.

Tony appeared to have lost the ability to speak and he stood gaping at Peter until the kid tugged him inside, a worried look on his face. “Tony? Are you okay?”

He nodded dumbly, unable to do anything but just drink in the sight before him. He’d always known in an objective way that Peter was handsome. He was a good looking kid, blessed with good genes and his Spidey athleticism, but he’d never given it much thought until now. Gone was the geeky kid that Tony had mentored and in his place was a man, a gorgeous specimen of a man wearing a tuxedo that hugged him in all the right places and was doing all sorts of wrong things to Tony’s libido. How the hell had Peter not managed to score a _ real _ date to this gig tonight? Was everyone at MIT blind now? He looked so damn edible in that suit that he was surely going to be devoured by anyone who laid eyes on him tonight.

That thought sent a wave of possessiveness through Tony and he was slightly taken aback by its intensity. He may be here as Peter’s date but they weren’t actually dating and he really couldn’t keep people away from him if Peter didn’t want him to. He’d been so upset that he’d not been able to get a date to the fundraiser that Tony was sure that Peter would be thrilled if someone tried to pick him up tonight, and not just because Flash had been teasing him. He must be lonely out here and if he really was seeing someone, that would definitely help with that. Tony just had to get over whatever the fuck had just come over him and be the friend that he was supposed to be.

“Tony?” Peter asked again. 

“Sorry, Pete, sorry. Just was a bit distracted. So, wow.” He gestured at the suit. “You look amazing.”

Peter blushed. “Thanks, so do you, but then again, you _ always _ do, so nothing new there.” 

Tony held out his arm. “Shall we? Your chariot awaits.”

Peter laughed and hooked his arm through Tony’s. “We shall.”

It was only a short limo ride across campus but Tony had wanted to make an entrance. They pulled up outside of the venue and he noticed Peter take a deep breath, as if to bolster himself, and without thinking, Tony reached over and gave his thigh a squeeze. “You got this, Pete.”

He nodded in reply and offered Tony a small smile. “Yeah, I do. Thanks.”

It was like someone had dropped a pebble into a pond. Eyes turned to them as they entered and like a ripple, it moved through the crowd until everyone in the room was looking at them. Tony felt Peter begin to tremble next to him and he reached down and took hold of his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He’d intended to let go right away, since holding hands wasn’t exactly akin to ‘being quiet’ but Peter clung to his hand with a grip that was almost painful so Tony didn’t let go. He was used to this sort of spot light, he’d grown up around it, had lived it his entire life, but Peter wasn’t and he was clearly uncomfortable. Tony spotted the bar over to the side and decided that they both needed a drink and he steered them over that way.

Flash found them as Tony was passing Peter a glass of whiskey, wearing an expensive tux yet it had nothing on the one that Peter wore. A girl in a low cut, floor length red gown was on his arm and she at least greeted Peter warmly, leaning in to give him a soft kiss on his cheek. “Shelly, you look beautiful,” Peter told her.

“Thank you. You look amazing, Pete!” she gushed, eyes roving over him in appreciation. She glanced over to Tony and must have noticed the glare he was giving her as she grinned cheekily and asked, “So, are you going to introduce us to your date?”

Knowing that Peter would likely give the game away, Tony stepped in, took Shelly’s hand, bowed low and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “Tony Stark, m'lady,” he said as cheesily as possible.

Shelly laughed uproariously at that, the most unladylike laugh that Tony had ever heard. He rather liked her. “Shelly Watson,” she introduced herself. “A pleasure to meet you, Mr Stark.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Ms Watson.” His eyes slid over to Flash, who looked like he was trying to swallow something particularly nasty. “And you I recognise. Eugene, isn’t it?”

“My friends call me Flash,” he replied, puffing his chest out a little in a failed attempt to make himself appear bigger.

“I’m sure they do, Eugene.” Tony slid an arm around Peter’s waist and tugged him close, a clear signal that anyone who messed with him messed with Tony. “I must say, it’s good to be back here at my old stomping grounds. I really need to make an effort to get back more often. Usually it’s Peter making the trip to come to New York to see me.”

“He won’t tell us any details about the projects he works on with you,” Shelly said. “I guess they’re all top secret or something.”

“Oh yes,” Tony confirmed. “Peter works on some of the very cutting edge technology that Stark Industries is developing, so he can’t discuss them with anyone. Of course, sometimes when he comes to visit, we spend most of our time doing the ‘or something’.” He smiled lavisciously, leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind exactly what he meant. Beside him, Peter blushed, Flash looked torn between jealousy and disgust, and Shelly just looked delighted.

“Oh, Pete! I would be too if I was seeing the one and only Tony Stark!” She gave him a punch on the arm and laughed her honking laugh again. “It’s no wonder you get anything done at all! I’m impressed!”

“Sleeping your way into an internship isn’t impressive,” Flash snapped.

Shelly snorted, not at all intimidated by her boyfriend’s tone. “Please, look at them, Flash - this is clearly rather new. They weren’t sleeping together back when Peter was in _ high school. _Don’t be daft.”

“How would you know?” Flash demanded.

She rolled her eyes. “Because Peter was still pining for Tony when he started uni - he wouldn't have been doing that if he was getting his hands on those goods now, would he? It’s different now, they belong to each other. Mr Stark is shooting daggers at anyone who even looks at Peter, and if looks could kill, there would be a trail of corpses following behind them since Peter has a death glare for anyone ogling Stark.”

“You’re very observant,” Tony told her, impressed. “We can always use people like you at Stark Industries.” He whipped out a card from his pocket and handed it over. “When you graduate, contact us here. I’ll be sure to let them know to expect your call.”

She took the card and slipped it into her bodice. “I think I’ll take you up on that.”

“Excellent. Now, if you’ll excuse us, I believe this is our song,” Tony said, tugging on Peter’s arm and leading him towards the dance floor.

Peter looked shell-shocked and he followed along docilely, allowing Tony to wrap his arms around him and hold him close. It took a few moments until he finally snapped back into the present. His head cocked to one side as he listened to the music. “_A Thousand Years?” _he asked wryly. “Don’t you think that’s a little cliched to be our song?”

Tony shrugged. “It sounded sappy and we needed an out.”

“Why were you in so much of a hurry to leave. You seemed to be enjoying talking to Shelly.”

Tony nodded as he spun them around, moving them deeper into the dance floor. “She’s rather delightful - no idea how Flash landed her, but he’d better get his act together since he’ll never find anyone better. But I don’t want to talk about Shelly, I want to talk about something that Shelly said.”

Peter groaned, clearly seeing where this was going and he hid his face against Tony’s chest. “Can we please just forget that?”

“I don’t think so,” Tony mused, his eyes twinkling. “So, pining, eh?”

“Urgh! I hate her so much.” He finally looked up, and his blush was now traveling down his throat. Tony wondered how much farther down it spread and wished he could find out. “Okay, fine, I had a crush on you in high school, when I was doing my internship, but I’m pretty sure everyone did. It doesn't make me special.”

“Au contraire, I think that makes you _ very _ special. Do you still have it?” Tony leaned in and whispered hotly against Peter’s ear, and was rewarded with a shiver. “Do you still want me?” 

“Nngh,” was the only response Peter seemed capable of giving, and Tony grinned in triumph.

“Would it shock you to know that I want you too?”

Peter’s brown eyes went wide in shock as he gazed up at Tony. “Yo...you do?”

“Let’s just say that it’s recent, but I believe it’s going to be a forever kind of thing.” He dipped his head down and brushed a soft kiss to Peter’s lips. “What do you say, Pete? Will you be mine?”

A nod. “Yes, always,” he whispered and then he leaned forward and kissed Tony back. 


End file.
